The prophetic events found in The Book of Daniel and in The Revelation of John are of great interest to students of scripture, and every Christian denomination has placed their own interpretations upon them. Many have been rather sound in their explanation, while still leaving room for uncertainty. This work does not represent the views of any particular religion, and the facts may be far different than commonly considered.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Part 10:Time, Times, and Half a Time

Twice in Daniel, and once in Revelation, there is the expression “time, times, and half a time,” so how long is a time? Turning to the relevant verses we read:

Daniel 7:25: “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

Daniel 12:7: “And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.”

Revelation 12:14: “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”

Here we have that woman again we read about in verses 1-6 of Chapter 12 who “fled into the wilderness” where she was fed for “a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Verse 6 said she shall be fed and verse 14 said she is to be “nourished.” Verse 6 also used the term, “a thousand two hundred and threescore days,” while verse 14 says “time, and times, and half a time.”

There seems to be an obvious question here: Is the “thousand two hundred and threescore days,” which we know to be 1260 years, the same as the “time, and times, and half a time”? Let see if we can figure it out.

We have “time, and times, and half a time.” How many times do we have here? Hebrew is full of idiomatic language. For example, the Hebrew idiom “cut off” means “to kill,” and so on. So is “time, and times, and half a time” an idiom? Let’s read a few biblical verses:

What we have here is the word “once” (one time), and the word “twice” (one more time), indicating only TWO times. The word “twice” does not mean two more time, making three times. So we do not have the equation of 1 + 2 = 3, but WE DO HAVE the equation of 1 + 1 = 2.

In the same way, a singular “time” followed by a plural “times” might be only two. Only two! The words are different, but the idiomatic form is the same. And when we add a half a time we have two and a half.

To take this study a little further, the translation of the Hebrew idiom “time, and times, and half a time,” in the Jewish Bible (both Messianic and non-Messianic), is somewhat different than most Christians may have been taught. Below is the same verse from a version of the Tanach, the Hebrew Old Testament:

Daniel 12:7: “And I heard the man clad in linen, who was above the waters of the river, and he raised his right hand and his left hand to the heavens, and he swore by the Life of the world, that in the time of two times and a half, and when they have ended shattering the strength of the holy people, all these will end.”

We see from the Tanach that we have 2 times plus ½.

So with time (1), and times (1), and half a time (½) we actually have 1 + 1 + ½ = 2 ½.

This being true, then why are people interpreting “time, and times, and half a time” as 3 ½ years? Probably because it fits the Seven-Year tribulation concept. However, many Hebrew scholars claim that their grammar does not support 3 ½ times as the correct translation for that idiom.

Let’s now go back to a scripture we used earlier, 2 Peter 3:8 where it is written: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

If time is a thousand years, and we have 2 ½ of them, then “time, and times, and half a time” could be 2500 years. Now let’s see if there is an exact 2500 year historic fulfillment of this biblical use of “time, and times, and half a time.”

“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon [552 BC] Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed:...” Dan. 7:1.) In this dream vision Daniel saw four great beasts coming up out of the sea. “And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another” (v. 3). We know that “sea” is a metaphore for people, for in Revelation 17:15 we read: “...The waters which thou sawest ... are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”

In Daniel’s vision was a description of the four beasts, or great empires, that were to rule in the Holy Land during the time of the Gentiles. At the end of that prophecy the Lord tells Daniel about the times.

Daniel 7:25: “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

Besides the mentioning of “time and times and the dividing of time,” verse 25 also mentions a couple of other things: “speak great words against the most High,” and “wear out the saints of the most High.” Those who speak great things against the most High are Satan and those who follow him; and who were the saints during Daniel’s time? They were the Jews, of course. So for 2500 years, the Jewish saints would be persecuted and worn out by the satanically directed Gentiles who were in power of Jerusalem during those “time and times and the dividing of time.” So let’s put it all together:

The first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon was: 552 BC + 2500 Years = 1948 AD.

Check it out. Just add 1948 + 552 = 2500.

At the end of Daniel’s prophetic ministry, God gave him another vision containing times. This prophecy also includes the 1290 days which led us to understand that the Dome of the Rock is the “abomination that makes desolate.” This vision is dated from the third year of Cyrus the Persian, which was 533 BC.

Daniel 10:1: “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, ...”

By the time of Cyrus, Daniel was now a very old man. He knew that an abomination of desolation was going to stand on the temple mount in less than 1300 years. The Lord told him when the Jews would once again inhabit Jerusalem, right to the year, but that no one would know for sure when that time would be—at least not until it happened. We’ve considered Daniel 12:7 above, but let’s turn to that verse once again:

Daniel 12:7: “And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.”

As discussed earlier, three years before Daniel’s vision as recorded in Chapter 12, Cyrus had given a decree that would permit the Jews to return to their homeland of Jerusalem. In the year 536 BC, 50,000 Jewish exiles, empowered by Cyrus’ decree, returned to Jerusalem. But when was the vision given? It was given in 533 BC, the third year of Cyrus. So this “time, times, and half a time”—or “time of two times and a half”—should begin in the third year of Cyrus—533 BC. With that year, here is what we get:

533 BC + 2500 years = 1967 AD.

The Lord even worded the last phrase of that prophecy in such a way that it would be difficult to miss his intent: “... and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.” As of 1967 AD, His holy people, the Jews, were no longer scattered among the Gentiles. They have their nation again, and their power is shattered no longer.